


Showdown (Yeehaw, Bang Bang Part II: Electric Boogaloo)

by TheWritingFox



Series: Yeehaw, Bang Bang [8]
Category: Steam Powered Giraffe
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Kidnapping, Minor Violence, Other, Pain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:14:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27899695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWritingFox/pseuds/TheWritingFox
Summary: In which the Walter family and friends must rally to save one of their own. Will they make it in time? And at what cost?
Relationships: The Spine/Original Female Character
Series: Yeehaw, Bang Bang [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1987078
Comments: 18
Kudos: 7





	1. It's Hare Season

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to part two of the story! I hope you all enjoy!

Hare made it back to town and continued to watch the Walter bots from afar, not knowing that they were keeping an eye out for him. After walking around the town, the Walter robots and Rex finally pinpoint where the Becile Boy was watching them from.

"Hey, the feller thats been following us is right over there." Rex says calmly and gives a subtle nod over his shoulder to Hare, who had been peering at them sneakily from a dark alleyway then hastily concealed himself further into the shadows when he thought he was seen.

He didn't know his presence was discovered. That's what they wanted him to think. 

"You all know the plan, time to ask our secret admirer some questions." Spine tells the group. "Now spread out and act casual", he adds before he lopes across the dusty street and disappears into a saloon. 

One by one all the Walter bots soon wander off in different directions and go into other shops along the street, leaving Rex to lean nonchalantly against the hitching post in front of a business across the way, petting the horse hitched up there.

Hare cursed under his breath and vented a small puff of smoke from his spot in the alley when he saw the group scatter. They would have to meet back up, he reasoned. Otherwise it was gonna be damn hard keeping track of them all. He knew he couldn't leave the alley with Rex so close, Hare was a wanted man after all. 

The coal powered robot glances behind him, the alley he was in looped around behind some of the other shops on this side of the street, he could bolt that way if it came down to that, maybe try to blend in with the crowd gathering for the parade. 

Hare's eye shifts back to where Rex stood. The cowboy was gone. The robot ground his sharp teeth in frustration and steps a little bit out of the alley to see where Rex had gone and perhaps catch sight of the others. He stops short as Zer0 steps in front of him, blocking his path and forcing the other automaton to step backwards into the alley.

"Whatcha lookin' at tubby?" Hare snarls as he's forced back into alley by the larger Walter robot.

Zer0's face didn't betray any emotion he may have felt. It was the most serious he'd ever looked.

"A very bad r-ro-robot", Rabbit answers from the other end of the alley. Hatchworth stands next her, hands folded behind him as he regards Hare with a cold stare, blue optics glowing in the shadows alongside Rabbit's mismatched blue and green gaze. 

"Ya think you're real smart don't ya, getting the drop on me and everything." Hare retorts, green eye flicking around trying to find an escape route just as Zer0 scruffs him by the back of his jacket collar and shoves him towards the other end of the alley. 

With his siblings help, they pin a struggling Hare against the back of the building on the other side. "I'd stay still if I were you." Hatchworth suggests grimly. 

"Or what halfpint, ya gonna bite my ankles?" The Becile boy growls back.

"Naw buckeroo, that's only if you don't cooperate with us." Rex drawls as he walks up to the group from the alley, The Spine not far behind him. 

"Afternoon, you must be Hare. I'm Rex, Rex Marksley." The cowboy tips his hat to the restrained robot. Hare remains silent until Rex asks the whereabouts of Becile and the rest of the boys. 

"I ain't telling ya nothin!" Hare barks.

The Spine had remained standing just a few steps away from the group as Rex tried interrogating Hare. He sighs a puff of steam quietly as he levels the Becile Boy with a hard look, optics glowing under his fedora. He pulls up the last text he got from Sparky, imagining how scared she must be right now, he clenches his fist. 

The thought of the smaller bot anywhere near Becile made his core churn in anger. If she was hurt, or worse...He stops himself from thinking of that possibility and sets his jaw. This was taking too long.

_'Move.'_

_Spine pings to his siblings over their shared network, the word was tinged with a hard undertone that shocked the others. He then disconnects himself from the network, leaving no room for argument._

"Let me try, Rex." The Spine says in a low rumbling voice as he walks up. 

His siblings exchange looks with each other and let go of Hare, watching The Spine carefully. They've only seen him like this once, during the war. The taller bot's silver features were set like stone as he looks down at Hare coldly, optics gleaming with a fierce emerald blaze.

Even Rex caught on to The Spine's change and wisely stepped out of the way, but not before laying a hand on the titanium bots shoulder.

"Remember partner, we need him", he reminds quietly.

Spine's eyes flick to Rex and he gives a small nod before returning his gaze firmly on Hare. The others step back, giving the silver bot some space.

The Becile boy defiantly looks up at Spine. "Whatcha gonna do, tough guy? Glare at me?", he spits on Spine's shoe. "Ya buncha p--" Hare's cut off as Spine grabs him roughly by the shirt, lifting him off the ground 

"Listen here..." Spine growls dangerously through grit teeth before he whispers in Hare's ear.

The coal powered robot's expression slowly turns to one of fear, his eye widens as Spine continues to whisper in his ear. 

The others would never know precisely what The Spine said to Hare, but whatever it was, it certainly worked. The moment Spine dropped the other robot back to the ground, he began to ramble off the location of Becile's hideout, an abandoned mine in the desert, several miles from town.

Rex whistles in approval when Hare was done.

"Well bucko, I don't know what The Spine told ya just now, but alright", he says and retrieves a pair of handcuffs from a pouch on his belt and pulls Hare's arms behind his back, fastening the cuffs on his wrists. 

"Now you may think these are just ordinary cuffs, but if you try to break outta them with your robot strength these bad boys will deliver a shock so fierce, your daddy will feel it, got that Hare?" 

The Becile boy grumbles, smoke circling over his head. He flinched when Spine pulled him roughly to his feet.

"One more thing, we ain't taking you to jail yet." Rex adds with a chuckle and slaps Hare's back. "You're now our official bargaining chip. We're gonna trade you for that little lady y'all took, how's that grab you?" 

Hare bites back a retort when The Spine puts a hand on his shoulder, gripping it tightly.

"Lead the way." The Spine orders, the look on his face left no room for argument. 

The decision was made earlier to leave Camille and Steve in town. The SOUND engineer was in no condition to fight and the Walter Worker would only be put in danger going up against Becile. Camille reluctantly agreed and stayed with Steve in a hotel room. He was concussed, so keeping him alert was going to be her top priority in the mean time.

**✴✴✴✴**


	2. Is This The Real Life?

Sparky winced in pain, asking softly, "Otac, why am I strapped down?"

Becile grinned wider. His experiment was a success! Green matter had been introduced to her system and it bonded with the electrical current running through her body. Now the little fool thought he was her maker, Tesla. No matter, he could use that to his advantage. 

"I had to repair you, my dear." Becile replies sweetly. "Couldn't have you hurt me by accident now can I?" 

Sparky shakes her head no. Confident that the copper bot was under his control, Becile unstraps her from the table and she sits up shakily.

"Hahaha! Birdie! Birdie sing again! Heehehehe!" The Jack titters from his corner. 

"Who's that?", she asks and regards The Jack with a curious look. 

"That's your brother, The Jack. Don't get too close, he likes to bite." Becile warns. 

A brother? Sparky tried hard to remember the other robot, he was familiar, but no memory of him came to mind. A flash of white hot pain in her torso makes her shudder and gasp as green sparks fall lightly from her ears. 

"Ah!..hurts...can you make the pain stop Otac? Please?" Sparky's voice distorts as she rides out the painful shock.

Becile watches her reactions eagerly, committing everything to memory. He frowns at her request.

"No. Your experiences are for the betterment of science", he answers flatly. "How else will I improve my work if I can't document every detail? You want me to succeed, don't you?"

Sparky nods. If this would help her Otac, she would do her best. But....wasn't this wrong somehow? Something nagged at her from the back of her mind, but the white hot, oppressive presence in her system compelled her to ignore it. 

Any questioning thought she had was pushed away and smothered by the Green Matter swirling within her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Sparky isn't having a good time.... 
> 
> The next chapters will be a bit longer!


	3. Flight Of The Posse

Hare leads them back to the wagon at the end of town. All the robots wouldn't be able to fit in it, even if they were, the poor horse couldn't pull their combined weight. Walking to their destination on foot would waste time they didn't have.

Rex had a solution and lead the group a little ways outside of town before blowing on a silver whistle he fished out of his pocket. He grinned at the robots as they waited for a moment until a large shape glided down from the sky and landed nearby, dirt flying up in the process. As the dust settled, an enormous vulture could be seen, squinting at them with a cocked head.

"Gang, meet Betsy, the sweetest bird I've ever known, ain't that right girl?" Rex croons. Betsy gives a short squawk in response and gently butts her head against the cowboy as he gave her a few loving scritches around the beak.

The robots look at Betsy with wide eyes, then back to Rex. "Are we supposed to ride that bird?" Spine asks finally, not at all pleased with the idea. But what choice did they have, really? 

"Yup!" Rex answers and swings himself up on the birds back then takes up a set of reins in his gloved hand. "Climb aboard. We'll cover ground more quickly this way." 

Without further ado, the robots mount the bird, Hare near the front with Rex and The Spine, with the other Walter robots filing behind them. With a large flap of Betsy's wings, they're airborne and soon flying high above the desert, following Hare's directions. 

The abandoned mine appears below them several minutes later. Rex urges the vulture down, and they swoop to a landing. A large figure was seeb quickly disappearing back inside the mine at their approach. Betsy takes off again once her passengers dismounted, leaving them in a cloud of dust as she soared skyward.

**✴✴✴✴**

"Father, Walter's robots are here. They've brought Rex Marksley, and Hare's with them." The Skull informs his creator gruffily.

"Hare was always good for nothing. He betrayed us, and lead them here." Becile spat then looks over at Sparky, "Lets go out and greet our guests", he adds with a sneer. 

Soon they're standing outside the mine. Becile regards the Walters with disdain as Skull and Sparky stand at either side of him. "What do you want?", he calls out.

The Walter bots glared at Becile, optics trained coldly on the man. Rex had his hand ready over the pistol holstered on his hip.

"Sparky!" Rabbit cried out in relief when she saw the smaller robot. "L-le-let her go, ya creep!", she snarled at Becile. 

The Spine stops her by lightly taking her elbow before she could charge at the man. Zer0 and Hatchworth look on warily, waiting for The Spine to make the planned offer. 

"We have Hare. We will trade him in return for Sparky." The Spine states with an edge to his deep voice and tightens his grip on Hare's shoulder, jerking the coal powered robot closer. 

Hare avoids eye contact with his brother and maker, his singular gaze fixed on the sand at his feet. To The Spine's suprise, Becile laughs scornfully.

"Do you really think I want that good for nothing idiot back, while I have this lovely specimen?" Becile pats Sparky on the head as she stares blankly forward. "She has furthered my research in Green Matter and is perfectly loyal to me", he adds and emphasizes the last words as a dig to Hare.


	4. Family Matters

Sparky gazed through the other automatons, green optics shimmering in the afternoon sun. She felt....nothing, and cold inside, despite the swirling heat in her system. She gave no reaction when Rabbit shouted her name nor when Becile pat her head.

A small spark deep inside told her to run from this man, but the compelling presence of Green Matter in her system snuffed it as easily as blowing out a candle. Her head twitches slightly to the side as green sparks fall from her ears. 

"If you don't give her up willingly, I have no problem taking her back by force and arresting ya, Becile!" Rex calls out, ready to draw and flexing his left hand in the special gauntlet. 

Becile only rolled his eyes at the cowboy's remark and sneers. "You can certainly try boy." He then gets an idea. He turns to Sparky and grips her shoulders, looking into her eyes. "These strangers wish to hurt your brothers and I. You don't want that, do you?"

This will prove to be an interesting experiment. The Walter robots would never hurt one of their own, but will the Green Matter twist this little one's mind and make her attack her loved ones? Let's find out...

Sparky lifts her gaze to Becile, her perception of him still warped by the Green Matter in her system. She sees Tesla looking back at her. No, of course not, she would never let harm come to her maker, she would protect him with her life. The smaller robot glances at the strangers and nods her head to Becile.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you Otac," she says firmly then narrows her eyes at the other automatons. 

The tall silver one had her brother Hare by the shoulder. The silver one regarded her sadly with his emerald green optics glowing softly. He seemed familiar?... He looked so sad. A tiny spark of concern flitters through her circuits.

That feeling was beaten down immediately. This robot meant Otac harm. Sparky stands protectively in front of Becile, green electricity sparking around her hands as she glared at the Walter robots.

Hare was their only bargaining chip, The Spine vents steam in frustration, he could see the others were worried as well. Things have gone bad to worse. Whatever Becile did to her, Sparky didn't seem recognize them. Did he hear her say 'Otac'?

Sparky focused on Rex, it seemed out of all these strangers, he was human, therefore weaker. The smaller robot approaches him, a hard gleam in her optics as green electricity crackles around her copper hands. Rex's eyes widen and he backs away as she stalks up to him.

"Hold up little lady, I ain't the enemy here!" The cowboy holds his left arm out defensively, if she sparked him hopefully the gauntlet would absorb most of the electricity.

Thinking quickly, Spine shoves Hare in between Rex and Sparky. The Becile Boy stumbles forward with a curse and crashes into Sparky, his hands still cuffed behind him. Both robots land with a hard thud on the ground, Sparky's head hits the hard packed desert sand, jarring her a bit as she rolls a struggling Hare off her and scrambles to her feet. 

Spine and Rabbit began to approach the smaller copper bot, Zer0 and Hatchworth flanked them, keeping an eye on Becile and The Skull. Now that Sparky was out of the way, Rex draws his gun and trains it on Becile and his boy, keeping them from moving.

"Sparky it's me, The Spine. You remember me, don't you?" The Spine approached carefully, green optics gazing into hers, imploring her to recognize him.

Sparky blinks at him, her eye color flickers from green to blue as she steps back. The tiny spark inside her from before suddenly flared up and snippets of memory pushed through the smothering presence in her system.

_A star shower, emerald optics glowing with affection, a kiss shared under the moon..._

The copper bot screams in pain and holds her head as she shorts out. She could feel the Green Matter surge through her electrical current, trying to regain control over her. 

Hare wriggles away from the shower of green sparks that burst from the smaller robot's ears and accidentally triggers the handcuff's mechanism, the resulting popping shock renders him unconcious.

Becile huffed in annoyance as he watched Sparky short out and Hare fall unconscious and smoking in the sand before ordering with a disappointed sneer. "Skull, get your brother and bring the little one back, then we'll take our leave." 

With a terse nod, Skull sizes up the group and picks his target. 


	5. Showdown

Sparky trips backwards over Hare's legs as she tried to back away and lands hard on her rear.

The Spine rushes over to her, concern written on his face as he reaches down to help her. "Sparky, are you alright?"

The smaller robot's optic color flickers rapidly between blue and green as she painfully tries to resist the Matter.

"I c-can't stop, Sp-Spine g-get away", she pleads in a distorted voice, watching in horror as her fist raises without her permission, crackling with green electricity and ready to blast her sweetheart away. 

Spine remained calm, despite the alarm he felt in his core. He knew Sparky was trying hard to resist.

"You can fight this darlin', I know you can", he tells her and backs away slowly.

Their attention was suddenly turned to Skull as he charged into the group and threw Hatchworth into Zer0, knocking both brothers to the ground, then latched on to Rabbits arm, twisting it as she cried out in suprise and pain. He was too close for Rabbit to activate her flame thrower.

Rex curses as he aims his revolver at Skull, he couldn't get a clean shot at him Rabbit would be in the cross fire.

At Rabbit's cry, Sparky felt her fuses surge painfully, her head twitches as green sparks fall from her ears. The smaller bot's optics shine a steady blue after flickering for a few moments. 

_No one hurts my family._

With a sense of clarity, she stands up and rushes past Spine, optics glowing fiercely at Skull. 

With a distorted cry of anger, the copper bot charges at him, electricity arcing around her hands. The Becile Boy releases Rabbit's arm in surprise as the smaller bot shoves his chest with her hands, the strong electrical shock shoots him backwards towards the mine. 

The Skull knocks into Becile on his way by, taking the man screaming with him into the mine's dark opening. Skull's metal body slams into the wooden pillar on the inside of the mine's entrance. A few moments later, a deep rumble followed by a crack was heard as the mine's opening collapses in a cloud of dust and debris. 

Electricity still raced through Sparky's system painfully as she stumbles forward a bit. Turning around, she sees the concerned looks of her family as they regrouped. Rabbit held her damaged arm close to her as Zer0 helped Hatchy stand back up. The moustached robot's shoulder was damaged from where Skull had grabbed him. 

Gray coolant tears welled in her eyes. Her family was hurt and it was her fault. Sparky was trembling where she stood, coolant trailing down her copper cheeks. The Spine began walking up slowly to her, like one does to a frightened animal. 

"Sparky, it's alright", he says gently as he approaches and holds out his hands to her in a calming manner.

"No! Stay back, I could hurt you!" Sparky exclaims and backs away. She wouldn't be able to forgive herself if she hurt him. Pain surges inside her and she doubles over with a gasp. 

The Green Matter was still swirling in her chest as it tried to smother her internal spark and warp her to its will. There was only one thing she could think of doing that might help, but she couldn't risk hurting her loved ones more.

Without another word, she runs full speed away from her family and into the desert. She saw the expression of alarm on Spine's face and heard him and the others call out her name then start running after her.

The copper pushes herself to speed up, the sandy landscape blurs by. Soon their voices become distant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is short, but hurty. Buckle up for some angst y'all. It also happens to be the final chapter of Part 2!


	6. Hurts Like Hell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the last chapter of part 2! This one is hurty, but I promise there will be fluff soon!
> 
> I should put some warnings for mentions of pain and robotic bodily harm in this chapter.

Sparky looked over her shoulder as she ran over a sandy hill before the terrain levels out once more. She couldn't see them chasing after her anymore. 

While she was distracted, she failed to notice the ankle height rock jutting out from the desert sand in front of her, she trips over it with a surprised yelp and tumbles down into a small dry gulley and rolls to a dusty stop before standing up painfully. 

There was nothing around her except for small cacti and tumbleweeds. Satisfied that she wouldn't be hurting anyone, the smaller automaton finally lets herself short out, forcing the Green Matter laden electricity out of her body.

Sparks fly from her ears and large arks of green lightning rapidly shoot skyward from her body. She screams, voice distorting unrecognizablely, feeling her fuses pop and circuits fry. 

With one last burst of lightning, Sparky could no longer sense the presence of the Green Matter in her system. The mechanisms in her legs wobbled then gave out, her body was never meant to produce and expend this much electricity at one time. She collapses to the ground, shaking from the strain and whimpering distortedly in pain.

She was scared and just wanted to go home and be with her loved ones. She wanted to be hugged by her sweetheart and told everything was going to be okay. Her entire being hurt so bad.... it would've brought tears to her eyes, but no coolant came. 

The copper bot's whole body spasms as she coughs up gray smoke with a hiss of static from her overloaded speakers. Her gaze follows the smoke as it drifts upwards, then focuses on the afternoon sky. 

_What a pretty color_ , she notes distantly as her system alerted her to the damage it suffered. 

_Battery critical, coolant reserves expended, system overheating._

She acknowledges these reports numbly, hoping the others knew how much she loved them and hoped Spine knew that she loved him more than she could ever express in words.

Muffled voices call her name as her vision narrows then fades black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't wait to see y'all in part 3!


End file.
